THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Supreme Court the other day stayed the Forest Department’s “one-time amnesty scheme” to register 289 elephants that did not possess a valid ownership certificate. The Court has also directed that if any certificates were given, it had to be withdrawn and suspended immediately.
The order has confused stakeholders. While animal activists say that none of these elephants could be paraded for festivals, elephant owners have interpreted the court order differently. “The order has not prohibited these elephants from being paraded at festivals,” said Sasi, of Elephant Owners’ Association.
“The order has only stated that these elephants should not be transported outside the state,” he added. However, the state's foremeost elephant activist K. Venkitachalam said that none of these 289 elephants could be paraded for festivals.
The amnesty scheme, notified on February 26 this year, was widely criticised on the grounds that it would violate the spirit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and would encourage elephant capture.
The interim order was based on a petition filed by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. The apex court also issued a stringent warning against inter-state transfer of elephants. The court told the Elephant Owners Association that people keeping elephants were not allowed to part with the animals nor transport them beyond state limits.
Earlier, following a Supreme Court directive that captive elephants in the state should be counted and action taken against owners who did not possess valid documents, the chief wildlife warden had informed the court that there are 601 captive elephants in the state and out of which 312 have valid ownership certificate and 289 do not.
Then, in an unprecedented move, the State Government decided to grant a one-time opportunity to owners to declare elephants in their possession. The amnesty was to be in force for a month, after which it was said action would be initiated.
